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HomeLetter to the EditorLetter to the editor: Police donation to the Prop 1 campaign
Letter to the EditorOpinion

Letter to the editor: Police donation to the Prop 1 campaign

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Editor:

In December, 2024 Edmonds Police Officers Association President Will Morris said the following:

“We don’t feel great about our department’s spending and we want to be the ones to step up and say, ‘We should cut more.’

“We don’t feel like we’ve done enough,” Morris said …..

On several occasions former Police Chief Bennett and Edmonds Police Department officers stated how much they loved serving our Edmonds community. I’m certain this was/is the case. Why wouldn’t they when Chief Bennett was earning $296,000, not including benefits, when she resigned, and in 2025 an Edmonds officer’s income has increased by approximately 47%.

Fast forward to today. The police officers union has donated $10,000 to the Vote Yes! Campaign. It is well known that the folks that will be hit the hardest are our senior citizens, those on fixed incomes, young families and those with mortgages to pay. Many may lose their homes. The lines at our local Food Bank are growing. But the union knows all this and still they have chosen to support the YES! Campaign for a $14.5 million levy on top of the RFA new tax.

Enough! Edmonds has stood by our EPD. But there are alternatives to providing safety to our community. We can contract outside for these services and save 40%.

Vote no on Prop 1!

Theresa Hutchison
Edmonds

25 COMMENTS

    • Chelsea, why do you resort to slogans? Theresa is simply stating the facts and cautioning us on implications. No one is saying defund the police, no one is saying they are not doing their job… Like any service, it is important to occasionally evaluate the cost of that service. I’m sure you do that in your home – if something has grown in cost, you would think about financial impact to your family budget and if you have other options. If you choose to subscribe to a slower internet plan because (Xfinity – for example) keeps increasing the price every year, is that an automatic campaign to “defund Xfinity”? We love our PD and know that they do a great job of keeping us safe. That is not in question.

      You are running for elected office. I expect more than just slogans from our leaders.

    • It sure does.

      Considering the uptick in gang activity at the high school and in the Edmonds apartments, this doesn’t feel like a great time to be giving our officers reasons to go to any of the other municipalities around here that are hiring at similar and higher salaries, with hiring bonuses to boot.

      But as long as we can keep our current batch of seniors happy for the next decade or so, who cares what happens to the next generation that has been tasked with keeping this city moving forward.

    • Sure does. It’s sad to see No on Prop 1 folks treat our police with the same disdain they express for our city staff and government. Back the blue and vote yes on prop 1!

      • Not sure why the Rudd family (referring to Chelsea’s comment on another post as well) makes this about people “not backing the police” or “defunding the police”. Being cognizant of what city services cost (all of them, including policing) is not disdain for our officers. It is responsible financial management, and it is our basic expectation from our mayor and city council.

        Please stop driving a wedge between us and our PD.

        Voting No on Prop 1 does not equal to disdain for our Edmonds Police Department.

        • i agree that simply voting No on Prop 1 is not an act of disdain for our officers.

          However, this article drips with disdain for our police. It describes them as overpaid an uncaring, and the author finishes by saying “Enough!” and then proposing firing them all and replacing them with contractors.

          The author is a prominent KEA activist pictured on their website. If you’re looking for someone driving a wedge between the community and the police, look no further than the article we’re commenting on.

      • Hey Jordan, frm. Edmonds Police Chief endorsed the ‘No’ campaign. My father is a retired cop, mother & stepfather retired Army. They’re also taxpayers, and at times critical & objective when it comes to govt. spending & priorities. Officer Morris himself questioned EPD spending, as quoted by Theresa.

        I know Theresa, she’s a retired nurse & spent much of her career working with police and has great respect for them. Personally I think her grievances should be directed towards our electeds not our officers, but her concerns of affordability should not be diminished.

        We have shared many current local news reports on how WA regressive tax structure is creating an affordability crisis. Did you see yesterday’s King5 report on the Montlake Terrace food banks worries over the expanded sales tax on non-for-profits? Or the Sound Transit architect worried about his ability to afford his home after ST announced a 1% increase?

        Let’s give each other some feedback. The ‘Yes’ folks have shown no empathy for those concerned with affordability. Haven’t had the pleasure of meeting you, but I know your friend. She’s an amazing part of this community, so I’m going to assume you guys are also amazing. Try and show a little empathy, I bet you’d find the ‘Yes’ & ‘No’ value many of the same things.

        Give us feedback, we need it!

        https://www.keepedmondsaffordable.com/supporters

      • Agree with Jordan here. If you didn’t know Theresa, could see how this article might lead one to believe that.

        Appreciate Jordan for clarifying his statement on the ‘No’ crowd.

  2. I’m sorry, the ‘young families’ who got into bidding wars starting in 2020 – paid $800K+ for a home – are going to lose their homes with this $65/mo increase?
    A $65 increase that preserves many of the amenities, traditions and services that likely led to them choosing to raise a family in Edmonds…
    Your math isn’t mathing for this demo.

    • Stacy/Jordan
      I don’t believe your responses are accurate. The author mentioned ‘contracting’ police which just means pursuing a contract with the County Sheriff’s office, and inviting most of the current Edmonds’ police officers to transfer to the County. The City should be able to negotiate maintaining the Edmonds logo uniforms and police cars and setting service metrics for number of 911 calls per officer; annual cost per resident per year; response times; etc. The City promoted the Regional Fire Authority (RFA) annexation citing the RFA had more economies of scale operating experience than the City could deliver with its own fire department. The same applies to police – and the County Sheriff contract model would offer a ‘right-sizing/economy-of-scale’ solution, a way to keep the majority of Edmonds’ police serving Edmonds, and a way to save $5+ million per year. The City needs to do proper due diligence and engage the Sheriff’s office in negotiating terms for a customized City contract. The $65/mo ignores the $1,000/yr. incremental tax for the RFA annexation that will hit in 2026. Long time residents are equity rich and cash poor. They cannot afford the 300% increase in property taxes between 2024 and 2026, if the tax levy happens. When all the seniors’ houses hit the market at the same time, the ‘young families’ will find their home values decrease.

    • And you are completely dismissing ALL the MANY folks that purchased in Edmonds well before 2020 – I would argue that there are significantly more of us that fall into that category than yours. That said, you also have NO idea what the situation of those that bought since 2020 – maybe they scraped everything they had together just to get into Edmonds now only to be hit with things way out of their budget yet now will be forced to redo their budgets because the city has mismanaged theirs. There is no one to bail me out if I can’t manage my finances. We will already be adjusting for the RFA, many residents that own a business are now having to collect/pay sales tax – this could impact their businesses if their customers decided not to take a class they have previously as now that extra 10.5% they will pays is not within their budget. OH, and let’s not forget the city is also exploring a B&O tax which will directly impact residents that also have a business in Edmonds. How many ways can they come at us??

  3. Oh, Chelsea! While you’re active…

    Asked respectfully and with appreciation for the adoption nonprofit work you’ve done – can you tell me how does your CFO experience at a small social-services nonprofit translate to the Port Commission’s economic-development mission and waterfront asset management?

    The Port’s core responsibilities include:

    • Public-capital budgeting & debt (multi-year capital plans, LTGO/revenue bonds)
    • Real estate & lease management (commercial/maritime tenants, rent policy)
    • Grants & compliance (DOT/MARAD/FEMA/Ecology; audit readiness)
    • Public works procurement (RFPs, prevailing wage, change orders)
    • Environmental & shoreline permitting (SEPA/NEPA, mitigation, long-term stewardship)
    • Risk/insurance for waterfront infrastructure and operations
    • Economic development outcomes (business retention/recruitment, jobs, foot traffic)

    Could you share concrete examples from your background that map to those duties? For instance:

    – Scale of budgets you’ve managed and any capital projects delivered;
    – Grants captured and federal/state compliance you oversaw;
    – Experience running RFPs/contracts and enforcing performance;
    – Setting and reporting measurable ED KPIs (tenancy, jobs, investment);
    – Work with rate/lease policy and long-horizon financial modeling.

    The nonprofit’s mission is admirable.

    Voters simply need a clear, specific skills match to ensure the Port—our local economic engine—has the subject-matter expertise at the dais to steward public assets and deliver real development results.

  4. I’ll add one more comment here, Chelsea. It might sound like ‘defund the police to you’, but what I know about the author of this LTE, is she stood next to Former Governor Jay Inslee – not too long ago – in Olympia – as he signed her bill into law.

    It’s also worth noting – because this is public – that Theresa is our friend and neighbor that filed the first PDC report against Mike Rosen…

    Theresa is high, highly regarded Nursing Executive with deep SME, and a very broad network of SMEs, policy experts, and government officials..

    I’d like to encourage you – to really understand, not only who you’re commenting to, but what their lived experiences are…

    I asked you previously about your CFO experience applicability to the Port Commission. Maybe you’ll take this opportunity to respond.

    Thank you, Theresa. For your dedication to Edmonds, and making our community a better place for all.

  5. And what about Mr. Morris’s comments the end of last year – “We don’t feel great about our department’s spending and we want to be the ones to step up and say, ‘We should cut more.'”
    How did he go from that to donating so much to the Yes prop 1 group? A quick google search shows that our chief make MUCH more than the average, and a good deal more than Seattle’s chief.
    What am I missing that we pay SO much more than the average?
    https://www.indeed.com/career/chief-of-police/salaries/WA

  6. Chief Bennett helped created the King County Sheriff contract model. It’s been widely praised nationally over the last decade. 12 cities including Woodinville, Sammamish, Kenmore contract. Currently like most departments in WA, they’re facing challenges related to the ‘defund’ movement.

    I don’t know if it’s the right thing for Edmonds, but it’s worth a serious conversation.

    https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/sheriff/courts-jails-legal-system/police-partnership-program

    • All of those departments contracted back in the 90s, with Sammamish being created and immediately contracted.

      I think we can all agree that the climate surrounding policing today looks much different. It was a much more difficult career to get into, and there were people lined up behind you to take your spot.

      We didn’t have departments offering 15-50k bonuses to try to woo experienced officers to come work for them.

      Today, especially in Washington state where we have citizens who clearly undervalue and under appreciate the men and women who serve us, folks aren’t chomping at the bit to wear the badge.

      It may have been a good conversation to have 20-30 years ago, but they way it stands now, if the city were to decide to contract with Snohomish (which they’d have to do-King isn’t an option) they’d be looking at an almost complete department employee loss, which would then lead to absorption by the county, not contracting.

      As the sheriffs dept is currently understaffed for its own residents, I’m hard pressed to understand how they could even begin to adequately patrol the additional 42k residents it would absorb.

      • Some very good questions regarding how staffing can work in a situation where a former municipal police department duties are contracted out to the larger, better funded County Sheriff’s Office. This happens far more often than people think and is a viable option taken by many small – medium sized cities and towns like Edmonds. In most cases, and certainly were this to occur in Edmonds with Snohomish County Sheriff; the first step would be right sizing the force, especially at the Command Staff level and the Support Staff level as these positions already exist in the Sheriff’s office and are not a 1-for-1 net add.

        Then existing Officers are encouraged to apply to be hired laterally into the Sheriff’s Office and continue patrolling the area and giving the same exact level of service, probably minus some of the fluff as that is taken up at the County level. Some states, like Oregon for example, require all sworn staff be granted needed fte spots on the newly developed County Force serving the city/town. Existing Fleet and other Equipment is absorbed, at cost by the County. Existing tenure and benefits schedules are maintained or improved. This is an alternative City of Edmonds should already be looking into, if only as a part of their fiduciary responsibilities to the voters.

  7. Interesting comments from Chief Dawkins at the Tues Council meeting. The only Council member who asked any questions about how the PD used performance metrics to determine gains in efficiencies was CM Dotsch. The other Council members simply said ‘we love our police.’ and just rubber stamped the $19M budget. Defunding is not the issue. Ignoring historical cost data and per capita cost data from comparable police services in Shoreline and Esperance is the issue. Chief Dawkins said she has no problem hiring police officers. Of course, when there is little oversight on the level of spending, no focus on performance metrics, and when the Council doesn’t ask any tough business questions, why wouldn’t you want to work for Edmonds PD? I invite all readers to compare the Edmonds Annual Police reports with the Shoreline reports. What you see is a large amount of ‘feel good’ marketing narrative and pictures in the Edmonds reports and very little statistics and performance metric data. Shoreline is bare bones, just the facts and performance statistics. The bottom line is that Edmonds residents pay 40% more for comparable police service compared with Shoreline and Esperance residents. Police spending in 2021 was $11.853M; in 2025, the budget is $19.085M, an increase of 61%. Compare Shoreline’s 2024 annual report with Edmonds: https://www.shorelinewa.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/64205/638787656319230000 https://www.edmondswa.gov/government/departments/police_department/department_info/edmonds_police_annual_reports_
    Which city focuses on performance rather than PR?

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